LeBlanc from League of Legends
Anime Matsuri 2014
Photos by Majin Buchoy & Aperture Ashley
First Place Skits & People's Choice at Anime Matsuri 2014

MATERIALS

- Satin
- Spandex
- Interfacing
- Heat vinyl transfer (from Heat Transfer Warehouse)
- Worbla
- Resin
- LEDs
- Pleather
- Elastic
 

PROCESS

It was time to come up with a great cosplay group to compete with, so Titanesque settled on League! With so many characters to choose from, it was hard narrowing it down since I'd only played a few lady champs and wasn't super into any of them enough to cosplay them, but eventually went with LeBlanc for that dark aesthetic.

I started with the body suit. In my head, the way I was doing cut outs would be amazing, but I forgot to take into account how they would stretch on my body so I had a lot of fun refitting that suit. The skirt came next. I used black satin faced and blanket bound with gold satin. For the gold filigree shapes, I went with gold heat transfer vinyl and love how easy it was to work with! Just draw, cut, and iron. (I made this costume in 2014 and over the years, the vinyl peeled off. I suspect it has to do with satin not wanting to adhere as well as other materials) I made the belt out of brown pleather and the buckles were made out of Worbla covered foam. This costume was my first big foray into the world of Worbla, so every piece was a learning experience. The buckles and belt were painted/detailed in acrylic paint.

The cape was probably the hardest part for me. I made a bolero and cape using the same gold lined black fabric as I did for the skirt. The trickiest part was making a standing collar. While my method isn't perfect and caused a lot of fussing and fixing my collar at the con, it worked at the time. I stuck a big piece of thick interfacing inside the collar and sewed it down to the cape and bolero. The cape and collar both got heat transfer vinyl details.

The shoes were so fun! I bought a pair of cheap ugly chunky heels (Chunky heels are SIGNIFICANTLY more comfortable than thin heels if you plan on walking around in your costume all day) and covered them in Worbla! I made a pattern out of craft foam and built the shape of the shoe up to look armored. A quick coat of spray paint and it's done! It might have been easier if I started with close toed shoes, but it worked regardless! I used craft foam and Worbla to make the bracers, as well. The headpiece was more Worbla covered foam with an elastic band to wear under my wig. The wig was also borrowed from my Raven costume. Since this was my first Worbla use, I didn't know to prime it first so my pieces all had Worbla texture. Boooo!

I was lucky to have a little bit of help with the staff. I couldn't decide on the shape, since it varies from art to art, and went with the expanding foam method. Needless to say, it was a nightmare, but I stuck with it. I covered all of that in Worbla (And wasted so much since I didn't know how to use it economically yet) and stuck it on a PVC pipe. My friend cast the resin gems and wired it all up with LEDs so that the gems would glow thanks to acrylic pipe.

I loved smirking and scowling in photos :)